In our January 2026 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, IT Specialist, Researcher and Digital Analyst, Mathew Cowen, who is based in Martinique, and Esmeralda Levens-Wijngaarde of Blyce in Curaçao, the panel discusses: How important are sovereign systems, dataflows and data access for the Caribbean region?  The AI hype cycle and the pressure to adopt, and finally, Web3: Is it still a thing?

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

The Caribbean stands at a pivotal moment in its digital development. Over the past decade, governments, businesses and citizens across the region have rapidly adopted digital platforms, cloud services and data-driven tools to improve efficiency, expand markets and modernise public services. At the same time, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 continue to dominate global technology discourse, often accompanied by bold promises of transformation and competitiveness. Yet beneath the excitement lies a more complex set of questions about control, resilience, relevance and long-term value for small, open economies like those of the Caribbean.

In kicking off the 2026 season of the podcast and our first Community Chat episode of the year, we did not hold any punches. The topics discussed are thought-provoking and insightful, as they may challenge some of what we thought we knew about today’s technology and how they integrate into our societies.

 

Introducing our guest panellists

Matthew Cowen

Matthew Cowen is an IT veteran who has been based in Martinique for 20 years and has over 30 years of experience in the industry. He specialises in researching the digital ecosystems of the Caribbean. He founded a boutique consultancy called dgtlfutures that helps micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) develop and implement digital transformation strategies and works closely with companies digitalising their operations chain.

Matthew is also involved in Internet Governance in the region and is an ARIN Fellow. He authors a newsletter called The Future is Digital, which you can find on his site, matthewcowen.org, along with a regularly updated blog on his current work. Matthew also teaches various tech-related subjects at the degree and master’s levels in three further education establishments in Martinique.

 

Esmeralda Levens

Esmeralda Levens-Wijngaarde is a global citizen who grew up in Suriname, pursued her higher education in Mathematics and Computer Science in the United States of America, was subsequently employed in the Netherlands, and since 2001 has been a resident of Curaçao. The common thread in her career has been the increase in business process efficiency mediated by technology, software, and data. She has done this by leading small and large teams in million-dollar projects in a wide range of industries and various cultural settings, varying from the airline industry, sports betting, telecommunications, emergency and disaster management, financial industry, tax administrations, and social security organisations.

Currently, Esmeralda is an Associate Director of Blyce, formerly known as BearingPoiint Caribbean, which specialises in the digitalisation of governments and offers online portals and other technology solutions that make public services better, faster, and smarter

 

The topics discussed

One of the most fundamental issues shaping the region’s digital future is sovereignty in the digital age. As Caribbean countries rely increasingly on foreign-owned infrastructure, platforms and cloud services, questions arise around who controls critical systems, where data is stored and processed, and who ultimately has access to that data. These issues are not purely technical; they touch on national security, economic resilience, regulatory authority and the ability of states to design policies that reflect local priorities. Hence our very first topic was, How important are sovereign systems, dataflows and data access for the Caribbean region?

We then discussed The AI hype cycle and the pressure to adopt. AI is widely portrayed as an unavoidable leap forward, creating pressure on governments and organisations to adopt quickly or risk being left behind. For Caribbean policymakers and institutions, the challenge is not whether AI is important, but how to separate genuine, context-appropriate opportunities from inflated expectations.

Finally, there is growing uncertainty around other once-celebrated technologies. Web3, blockchain and decentralised platforms were heralded as tools that could democratise finance, reshape the internet and empower small states and creators. Today, enthusiasm has cooled, investment has become more selective and practical use cases are being re-examined. However, a recent article in the Cayman Compass stated that the Cayman Islands had made some major strides towards becoming a global centre for Web3 businesses, which led us to ask, Web3: Is it still a thing?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or might otherwise be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  E Levens-Wijngaarde;  M Cowen;  Freepik;  Ugochukwu Ebu (Pixabay);  kues1 (Freepik)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez